Stonyfield Organics Deletes Pro-GMO Comments

Farmers, researchers and other agricultural activists are taking to Twitter and Facebook after Stonyfield Organics began censoring and deleting comments from those opposed to their recent marketing campaign. Comments were on the company’s Facebook page for a short time before being deleted.

The video that’s caused the most recent outrage uses children to spread the company’s anti-GMO message. One child calls GMOs “monsters” while another defends the right to know what is in our food. Commenters defending GMO production argued against the video’s claims.

“Why would Stonyfield ban people from its website and censor scientific information?” asks Kevin Folta, professor at Florida State University and science activist on social media in his blog. “Because science literacy is affecting their bottom line. If you can't scare people into your products, you have to remove the scientific information that is influencing buying decisions”

In that same blog posting, Folta examines some of the comments provided and subsequently deleted by the Stonyfield, including his own. And he’s not the only one who has noticed the trend.

.@Stonyfield called critics of their anti-#GMO marketing campaign "trolls"on facebook. I responded, respectfully, and used one of their claims as an example of how they misrepresented the facts. Within minutes, my comment was deleted and I can no longer respond. #factsnotfearpic.twitter.com/mwzHucJY9h

GMOs and other advancements used in agriculture are under the magnifying glass—and will likely stay there for the long run. While there is room for all kinds of production: conventional, organic, etc., there is no room for mistruths and unfair censorship. Share your thoughts on Stonyfield’s ad here by commenting below—and we won’t delete them.